Hebrews chapter 12. This is our
72nd study, and I'm not sure that we'll be finishing the book
of Hebrews. We're going to finish chapter
12 this morning, but I'm thinking about Moving on to the next book
that the Lord has laid on my heart, and that would be the
book of Isaiah. Hebrews chapter 12. And we'll look at verse 25
through the end of chapter 12, verse 29. There's only five verses
here in this lesson. But what a lesson it is. In these
five verses we're going to see words of grace. Always a blessing
to see those things of God's grace. Words of hope. Hope in our Savior. Hope that
points us to Him. Hope that takes the eyes off
of self and points it to Him. There's also words of warning. Words of warning. Words that
keep us. Keep us in line. and steady and
steadfast in the gospel of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Then
we have words of promise. Promises to come. In verse 25 of Hebrews chapter
12, we read these words, See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. And we looked a little bit at
this last week. It goes on after that, it says, For if they escape
not who refused him that spake on earth, Much more shall not
we escape if we turn away from Him that speaketh of heaven."
Here's that word of warning. Examine yourselves. Am I in the
faith? This one that speaketh here,
this one that it's talking about, see you refuse not Him that speaketh. Well, who is it that speaks?
It's Christ. It's our Mediator. The Mediator
of the New Covenant. Look back at verse 24 and it
says that Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the
blood of the Sprinkling that speaketh better things than that
of Abel. This is the One who is speaking to us, the Lord Jesus,
the Creator of all that is, according to John, chapter 1, verse 1. Him that speaketh is Christ,
the Mediator of the New Covenant. He spoke for the elect and the
council and the covenant of eternal grace. Turn back to Hebrews,
chapter 8. Turn back a couple of pages to
Hebrews chapter 8. This is the very one who speaks
for the people, speaks for those for whom he shed his blood. Look
at verse 6 of Hebrews chapter 8. For finding fault with them,
he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah. Not with the whole world, not
with all of mankind, not of all main creatures, But with the
house of Israel, the house of Judah, He speaks for them, He
speaks for His elect. He spoke for the creation of
all things out of nothing. I just mentioned for you a moment
ago, John chapter 1 verse 1 through 4, He in the beginning was the
Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things
were created by Him. Nothing was created that wasn't
created by Him. Look back at Hebrews 11, chapter
11, verse 3. Look at verse 3. That's just
a page to the left there. Through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made, and things which do appear. This very One
who this is talking about is the Lord Jesus. The One who created
everything. He spoke from Sinai in giving
the law. Remember what we saw in that,
Sinai? If you touch the law, it'll kill
you. A picture of mankind. We can't
touch the law. We can't even come close to fulfilling
the law. Even one little iota. He spoke
as a prophet of the church in the days of his flesh. Go back
to Hebrews chapter 3. Look back here at Hebrews chapter
3. Wherefore, holy brethren, this is Hebrews chapter 3 verse
1, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle,
the prophet, the prophet of the church, consider the apostle,
the high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. He spoke through
his servants in giving the scriptures. Remember what it says back there
in Luke chapter 24? What he said of those men on
the road to Emmaus in verse 27, the beginning of Moses and all
the prophets. This is the one who spoke through
his servants. He expounded unto them all the
scriptures, all the things that the prophets wrote about concerning
himself. And he speaks now in heaven interceding
for believers as we just read there in Hebrews chapter 3. The high priest. How foolish to refuse
Him. But folks, men do. And so would
you and I if it had not been for His grace. We would be right
there with Him. Turn over to John chapter 1. John chapter 1. Hold your place
there in Hebrews, we're coming back to it. I want to look at
three verses over in the book of John. John chapter 1, beginning
in verse 11. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not. How foolish. How foolish it is. But folks, you and I were in
that very same boat. We were right there with Him,
and if it had not been for the love of God for you and I from
before the world was predetermined, predestinated, as it says in
Ephesians chapter 1, to be conformed to His image. Actually, that's
Romans chapter 8. To be conformed to His image. If it had not been
for His mercy and His grace, we'd be right here with Him.
coming to His own, He came unto His own, and His own received
Him not. Look over at John 3, verse 19.
We're talking about those who are fools. You and I, who were fools at
one time, and this is condemnation, that light has come into the
world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil. One more, if you would, over
at John chapter 5. Keep going to the right, over
to John chapter 5, and look at verse 43 with me. I am come in
my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come
in his own name, you will receive. This is the warning I spoke about
to you a moment ago. These are parts of that warning,
parts of that grace, parts of the words of hope, and parts
of the words of promise. His gospel is refused through
unbelief. His gospel is neglected through
indifference, and His gospel is perverted of self-righteousness. What must
I do? What can I do? Oh, look what
I did. I did this. I did that. Him that
spoke on earth may mean God who spoke on Mount Sinai and giving
His law, or Moses who was on the earth and of the earth who
spoke for God to people as our mediator whom they promised to
hear and heed, but did not. Look over in Acts chapter 7.
Acts chapter 7. Verse 37, this is that Moses
which said unto the children of Israel, a prophet shall the
Lord your God raise up unto you. Who is Moses speaking of here?
He's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unto you of your brethren,
like unto me, him shall ye hear. Now look at verse 38. In 39, this is He that was in
the church, in the wilderness, with the angel, which spake to
Him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the
lively oracles to give unto us, to whom our fathers would not
obey, but trust Him from them, and in their hearts turn back
unto Egypt. If they who refused to hear the
words of Moses did not escape the wrath and the judgment of
God, even better if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven. Christ came from heaven. He's
the Lord of heaven. His doctrine is from heaven.
And having finished His work, He is seated in heaven from which
He shall come to judge and reward all men. Again, look at John
chapter 12. John chapter 12. Our Lord's returning, folks.
And when He does, He'll reward. He'll give reward to those that
are in Him. Look at verse 47 and 50. 47 through
50. And if any man hear My words,
and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge
the world, but to save the world. This is John chapter 12, verse
47. Then in verse 48 we read this.
He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth
him. The word that I have spoken the
same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of
myself, but the Father which sent me. He gave me a commandment
what I should say and what I should speak. Now back in our text,
We go on from this warning that we see here in verse 25. See
that you refuse Him not to speak it. And look what it says next
in verse 26. Going on about who it is that
was speaking there. Whose voice then shook the earth. Now whose voice shakes the earth?
Is it not God's? Is it not God's voice who shakes
the earth? But now he hath promised, saying,
Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven."
At Sinai, the earth was shaken by his voice. Remember that?
When the Lord gave him the Ten Commandments, the earth shook. There was a great earthquake. which voice was the voice of
thunder, the voice of trumpets, the voice of words. And you can
read about that in Exodus 9 verse 18. Again, you can read about
it in Psalm 68, 78, where it says, Once more I shape not the
earth only, but also heaven. Turn over to Haggai chapter 2. For thus saith the Lord, verse
6, Haggai chapter 2, verse 6, For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
Yet once it is a little while, and I will shape the heavens,
and the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this
house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." Now that was speaking
of Him shaking the heavens with the Lord Jesus Christ when the
Lord Jesus came. This was the coming of the Messiah
that it was speaking of, the birth, the life, the death, and
the resurrection of our Redeemer. His coming not only shook the
earth, but all of heaven as well. Look at verse 27 in our text,
Hebrews 12 verse 27. And this word, speaking of Him,
yet once more signifyeth the removing of those things that
are shaken, as of the things that are made, and those things
which cannot be shaken may remain. It says in this word, yet once
more, and that indicates the final removal of all that can
be shaken, such as Sinai, its law, the Jewish state, both political
and... we've got a minute or two. I'm
just going to recap a little bit for our sister Polly, who
just got here. We're talking about in verse... if you look, Polly, if you look
back at verse 25, we're talking about warnings, Blessings, grace,
we're talking about words of grace, words of hope, words of
warning, and words of promise. And if you see there in verse
25, it says, see that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. And we've gone through several
Scriptures to see that this is the Lord Jesus Christ who spoke.
And He goes on to tell us, speaking about those who spoke about Him,
the prophets and so on. So now we come to verse 27. And
now we're talking about the very Word that shook the earth and
shook the heavens. And this is the Word of God,
the one that John 1, verse 1 talks about. In the beginning was the
Word. It's the Word about Jesus Christ. You know who those who
unbelieve? You and I, before God gave us
the gift of belief. You know what our unbelief was?
It was saying to God, You did not send Your Son. The One who
walked this earth was not the Son of God. If we knew that He
was the Son of God, we would have worshipped Him. But we didn't know, did we? So
we shook our fist, just as the world does. And that's what this
is talking about, shaking the earth with the Word of God, as
we saw in John 1, verses 1-4. He spoke of all creation. I've
already gone over that part. So this is the word that indicates
the final removal of all that would be shaken, such as Sinai,
which is a picture of God's law, the Jewish state, the religious,
political, and ecclesiastical Jewish religion, the whole Mosaic
economy, the tabernacle with its ceremonies and its sacrifices,
all of which had been abused and turned How does the Scripture
call it? They've turned the Word of God,
the things of God, into lasciviousness, wickedness, denying the only
Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what shook the earth.
It shook all of it. Turn back to Hebrews 10. That's
over to the left, just a couple of pages. Turn back to Hebrews
10 for a moment. And look with me in verses 8-10. This is what shook the earth.
The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Above, when He said,
Sacrifice and offerings, and burnt offerings, and offering
for sin, thou wouldst not, neither hast pleasure therein, which
were offered by the Law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God, he taketh away the first, that he may establish
the second." Oh, what grace we see in these words of our Lord
coming and shaking things up by His coming. Verse 10, by the
witch will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. In our Friday night study, those
of you who have been able to join us with that, you remember
Friday night? What did we look at? the self-righteous religion,
they would take in God's Word and change it into lasciviousness,
into wickedness. Look what I do. I pray in the
marketplace. They were angry at God's people
because God's people wouldn't wash their hands. That was part
of their law. You wash your hands, not to make
your hands clean, but to show how legalistic you were. We do
that in today's world, don't we? If you don't come to church
on Sunday, you're not saved. You've got to be in church to
show people how righteous you are, how saved you are, how holier
than thou you are. People call me up and they tell
me, John, I'm sorry, I couldn't be in church. And I understand
what they mean. I've done the same thing. I've
called up my pastor and told him, brother, I'm sorry, I'm
sick, I just can't be there. No reason for me to be sorry.
There's no reason for you to be sorry. Not to me. You're right where God would
want you to be. I can't be in church today. Okay. I trust the Lord. If the Lord
wants you in church, folks, I'm guaranteeing you, He's going
to put you there. When the Lord wanted John Reeves to be in church,
guess what He did? He brought trouble into my life
and brought me to this church. It's no different today. Twenty-five
years later, it's still the same thing. He's the one who gets
me up out of that bed, gives me breath to walk this earth
in the morning, gives me the desire to come over and get in
that office and study for a service today. It's still the Lord bringing
me here. It's still the Lord bringing you here. It's still
the Lord bringing Paulie Mary, and that just blesses my heart,
to this church. Oh, you talk about shaking up
our world. He sure shook up our world, didn't
He? Oh, those things which cannot be shaken or moved may remain,
it says, this is the kingdom and the priesthood of Christ
which is forever. And all the good things that
come through Him, such as justification, adoption, redemption, you know,
those things can't be changed. In Christ Jesus, they're sure
and amen, are they not? You know, our Savior is not sanctification,
assurity, Sanctification of his people? That's what bothers me the most
about the free willism, the free will religions. They take the
surety of our Lord and they throw it out and put it in their own
hands. My surety is in my decision to
follow Jesus is what my aunt was saying. I'm so thankful that
I decided to do this. I'm so thankful that I grew up
in a church where I was with God the whole way and I walked
with the Lord all my life. We know, don't we? You and I
know this. that the things of our Lord,
adoption, redemption, sanctification, heavenly inheritance, all the
doctrines and the ordinances of the gospel, baptism, the Lord's
Supper in the church cannot be shaken if they're in the Lord
and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 28. Wherefore, because of all that
stuff that we just talked about, who is the one who shook up the
world that the things of him would not be shaken ever? Wherefore
we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace. Oh Lord, teach us to be graceful
to others. Do you know how much of a battle
that is for some people? to be gracious? You would think
it's something really easy. You would think maybe, you know,
why can't I just be gracious to those folks? Why is there
such going through my heart? That battle, folks, will never
get easier. Until the day the Lord takes
us out of this world, we will fight that battle between the
flesh and the spirit. Reminding us of how weak we are
in this flesh. Reminding us that our only strength
is in our Savior, the Lord Jesus. We've been talking about that
too, our trials. And Peter, we talked about that
a little bit last week, the trials, what were they for? They were
to teach us that our only strength is in our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
We can't trust, we can't have any confidence in this flesh. And it finishes verse 28 there,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. We've been received into His
kingdom. And we, by faith, have received
the scepter of Jesus Christ. He is our King. He's the King
of kings. He's the Lord of all lords. His
kingdom and reign shall know no end. Therefore, let us offer to our
Lord pleasing service, acceptable service, and praise with reverence
and godly fear. Remember the new song that we
read about? He put a new song in our hearts?
Well, what is that song? Praise. Praise unto our Savior. That's the new song. Praise Him
for His mercy. Praise Him for His grace. Let us have grace. Let us hold
the gospel of grace and of God and continue therein. Look back
one more verse, if you would, before we look at verse 29. Hebrews
13. Actually, let's go forward. This is into the next chapter.
Look at verse 15 over there. By Him, therefore, let us offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit. of our lips giving thanks to
His name. I mentioned the other day in
my prayer, one of my closing prayers, Lord, that's all we
have. I can't do anything in this flesh
of any good, but I can praise my Savior. I can give Him thanksgiving
for what He's done for me. I can praise Him for His mercy
upon me. I can praise Him for His grace,
for His substitutionary sacrificial death. I can praise Him for all
things. He is my King, my Lord, my God. Now look at our last verse here
in Hebrews 12, verse 29. is a consuming fire. Now there's
two points that we can deal with here. First, it can be understood
of his jealousy, and you can read about that in Deuteronomy
4 verse 24 if you want to write that down and read it in your
own time, in matters of worship and approach to him, jealousy
of those things. God only is to be worshipped,
and he is to be approached in the manner and the way suitable
to him, He is to have all glory and to
come in any other way is to be utterly rejected and consumed
in the fire of His wrath. And let me read for you from
John chapter 14 on that. Over in John chapter 14, verse
6. Jesus saith, I am the way, the
truth, and the life, no man. cometh unto the Father, but by
me. Secondly, our God is a consuming
fire. He is a wall of fire in his providence
to protect and to provide. He is a fire to warm and to guide
them. He is a fire to consume their
enemies and to purify them and their eternal dwelling. Our Lord
is a consuming fire. That's like saying he's a two-edged
sword. One that would cut a sunderer
to salvation and another that would cut a sunderer to his wrath.